Comparing and Contrasting

What this handout is about

This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for
comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which
similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and
effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes
beyond “Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others.”

Introduction
In your career as a student, you’ll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, each
with its own requirements. One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which
you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this
is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such
essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage
in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis:
when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items
you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.

Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments

Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it
easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Here are a few
hypothetical examples:

 Compare and contrast Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression.

 Compare WWI to WWII, identifying similarities in the causes, development, and
outcomes of the wars.
 Contrast Wordsworth and Coleridge; what are the major differences in their poetry?

Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both.

But it’s not always so easy to tell whether an assignment is asking you to include
comparison/contrast. And in some cases, comparison/contrast is only part of the essay—you
begin by comparing and/or contrasting two or more things and then use what you’ve learned to
construct an argument or evaluation. Consider these examples, noticing the language that is used
to ask for the comparison/contrast and whether the comparison/contrast is only one part of a
larger assignment:

 Choose a particular idea or theme, such as romantic love, death, or nature, and consider
how it is treated in two Romantic poems.
 How do the different authors we have studied so far define and describe oppression?
  Compare Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression. What does each imply about
women’s collusion in their own oppression? Which is more accurate?
 In the texts we’ve studied, soldiers who served in different wars offer differing accounts
of their experiences and feelings both during and after the fighting. What commonalities
are there in these accounts? What factors do you think are responsible for their
differences?

You may want to check out our handout on Understanding Assignmentsfor additional tips.

Using comparison/contrast for all kinds of writing projects

Sometimes you may want to use comparison/contrast techniques in your own pre-writing work
to get ideas that you can later use for an argument, even if comparison/contrast isn’t an official
requirement for the paper you’re writing. For example, if you wanted to argue that Frye’s
account of oppression is better than both de Beauvoir’s and Bartky’s, comparing and contrasting
the main arguments of those three authors might help you construct your evaluation—even
though the topic may not have asked for comparison/contrast and the lists of similarities and
differences you generate may not appear anywhere in the final draft of your paper.

Discovering similarities and differences

Making a Venn diagram or a chart can help you quickly and efficiently compare and contrast two
or more things or ideas. To make a Venn diagram, simply draw some overlapping circles, one
circle for each item you’re considering. In the central area where they overlap, list the traits the
two items have in common. Assign each one of the areas that doesn’t overlap; in those areas, you
can list the traits that make the things different. Here’s a very simple example, using two pizza
places:

To make a chart, figure out what criteria you want to focus on in comparing the items. Along the
left side of the page, list each of the criteria. Across the top, list the names of the items. You
should then have a box per item for each criterion; you can fill the boxes in and then survey what
you’ve discovered. Here’s an example, this time using three pizza places:

Pepper’s Amante Papa John’s

Location
Price
Delivery
Ingredients
Service
Seating/eating in
Coupons

As you generate points of comparison, consider the purpose and content of the assignment and
the focus of the class. What do you think the professor wants you to learn by doing this
comparison/contrast? How does it fit with what you have been studying so far and with the other
assignments in the course? Are there any clues about what to focus on in the assignment itself?

Here are some general questions about different types of things you might have to compare.
These are by no means complete or definitive lists; they’re just here to give you some ideas—
you can generate your own questions for these and other types of comparison. You may want to
begin by using the questions reporters traditionally ask: Who? What? Where? When? Why?
How? If you’re talking about objects, you might also consider general properties like size, shape,
color, sound, weight, taste, texture, smell, number, duration, and location.

Two historical periods or events

When did they occur—do you know the date(s) and duration? What happened or
changed during each? Why are they significant? What kinds of work did people
do? What kinds of relationships did they have? What did they value? What kinds
of governments were there? Who were important people involved? What caused
events in these periods, and what consequences did they have later on?

Two ideas or theories

What are they about? Did they originate at some particular time? Who created
them? Who uses or defends them? What is the central focus, claim, or goal of
each? What conclusions do they offer? How are they applied to
situations/people/things/etc.? Which seems more plausible to you, and why? How
broad is their scope? What kind of evidence is usually offered for them?

Two pieces of writing or art

What are their titles? What do they describe or depict? What is their tone or
mood? What is their form? Who created them? When were they created? Why do
 you think they were created as they were? What themes do they address? Do you
think one is of higher quality or greater merit than the other(s)—and if so, why?
For writing: what plot, characterization, setting, theme, tone, and type of narration
are used?

Two people

Where are they from? How old are they? What is the gender, race, class, etc. of
each? What, if anything, are they known for? Do they have any relationship to
each other? What are they like? What did/do they do? What do they believe? Why
are they interesting? What stands out most about each of them?

Deciding what to focus on

By now you have probably generated a huge list of similarities and differences—congratulations!
Next you must decide which of them are interesting, important, and relevant enough to be
included in your paper. Ask yourself these questions:

 What’s relevant to the assignment?

 What’s relevant to the course?
 What’s interesting and informative?
 What matters to the argument you are going to make?
 What’s basic or central (and needs to be mentioned even if obvious)?
 Overall, what’s more important—the similarities or the differences?

Suppose that you are writing a paper comparing two novels. For most literature classes, the fact
that they both use Calson type (a kind of typeface, like the fonts you may use in your writing) is
not going to be relevant, nor is the fact that one of them has a few illustrations and the other has
none; literature classes are more likely to focus on subjects like characterization, plot, setting, the
writer’s style and intentions, language, central themes, and so forth. However, if you were
writing a paper for a class on typesetting or on how illustrations are used to enhance novels, the
typeface and presence or absence of illustrations might be absolutely critical to include in your
final paper.

Sometimes a particular point of comparison or contrast might be relevant but not terribly
revealing or interesting. For example, if you are writing a paper about Wordsworth’s “Tintern
Abbey” and Coleridge’s “Frost at Midnight,” pointing out that they both have nature as a central
theme is relevant (comparisons of poetry often talk about themes) but not terribly interesting;
your class has probably already had many discussions about the Romantic poets’ fondness for
nature. Talking about the different ways nature is depicted or the different aspects of nature that
are emphasized might be more interesting and show a more sophisticated understanding of the
poems.

Your thesis
The thesis of your comparison/contrast paper is very important: it can help you create a focused
argument and give your reader a road map so she/he doesn’t get lost in the sea of points you are
about to make. As in any paper, you will want to replace vague reports of your general topic (for
example, “This paper will compare and contrast two pizza places,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are
similar in some ways and different in others,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in many
ways, but they have one major difference”) with something more detailed and specific. For
example, you might say, “Pepper’s and Amante have similar prices and ingredients, but their
atmospheres and willingness to deliver set them apart.”

Be careful, though—although this thesis is fairly specific and does propose a simple argument
(that atmosphere and delivery make the two pizza places different), your instructor will often be
looking for a bit more analysis. In this case, the obvious question is “So what? Why should
anyone care that Pepper’s and Amante are different in this way?” One might also wonder why
the writer chose those two particular pizza places to compare—why not Papa John’s, Dominos,
or Pizza Hut? Again, thinking about the context the class provides may help you answer such
questions and make a stronger argument. Here’s a revision of the thesis mentioned earlier:

Pepper’s and Amante both offer a greater variety of ingredients than other Chapel
Hill/Carrboro pizza places (and than any of the national chains), but the funky,
lively atmosphere at Pepper’s makes it a better place to give visiting friends and
family a taste of local culture.

You may find our handout Constructing Thesis Statements useful at this stage.

Organizing your paper

There are many different ways to organize a comparison/contrast essay. Here are two:

Subject-by-subject:

Begin by saying everything you have to say about the first subject you are
discussing, then move on and make all the points you want to make about
the second subject (and after that, the third, and so on, if you’re
comparing/contrasting more than two things). If the paper is short, you
might be able to fit all of your points about each item into a single
paragraph, but it’s more likely that you’d have several paragraphs per
item. Using our pizza place comparison/contrast as an example, after the
introduction, you might have a paragraph about the ingredients available
at Pepper’s, a paragraph about its location, and a paragraph about its
ambience. Then you’d have three similar paragraphs about Amante,
followed by your conclusion.

The danger of this subject-by-subject organization is that your paper will

simply be a list of points: a certain number of points (in my example,
three) about one subject, then a certain number of points about another.
This is usually not what college instructors are looking for in a paper—
 generally they want you to compare or contrast two or more things very
directly, rather than just listing the traits the things have and leaving it up
to the reader to reflect on how those traits are similar or different and why
those similarities or differences matter. Thus, if you use the subject-by-
subject form, you will probably want to have a very strong, analytical
thesis and at least one body paragraph that ties all of your different points
together.

A subject-by-subject structure can be a logical choice if you are writing

what is sometimes called a “lens” comparison, in which you use one
subject or item (which isn’t really your main topic) to better understand
another item (which is). For example, you might be asked to compare a
poem you’ve already covered thoroughly in class with one you are reading
on your own. It might make sense to give a brief summary of your main
ideas about the first poem (this would be your first subject, the “lens”),
and then spend most of your paper discussing how those points are similar
to or different from your ideas about the second.

Point-by-point:

Rather than addressing things one subject at a time, you may wish to talk
about one point of comparison at a time. There are two main ways this
might play out, depending on how much you have to say about each of the
things you are comparing. If you have just a little, you might, in a single
paragraph, discuss how a certain point of comparison/contrast relates to all
the items you are discussing. For example, I might describe, in one
paragraph, what the prices are like at both Pepper’s and Amante; in the
next paragraph, I might compare the ingredients available; in a third, I
might contrast the atmospheres of the two restaurants.

If I had a bit more to say about the items I was comparing/contrasting, I

might devote a whole paragraph to how each point relates to each item.
For example, I might have a whole paragraph about the clientele at
Pepper’s, followed by a whole paragraph about the clientele at Amante;
then I would move on and do two more paragraphs discussing my next
point of comparison/contrast—like the ingredients available at each
restaurant.

There are no hard and fast rules about organizing a comparison/contrast

paper, of course. Just be sure that your reader can easily tell what’s going
on! Be aware, too, of the placement of your different points. If you are
writing a comparison/contrast in service of an argument, keep in mind that
the last point you make is the one you are leaving your reader with. For
example, if I am trying to argue that Amante is better than Pepper’s, I
should end with a contrast that leaves Amante sounding good, rather than
with a point of comparison that I have to admit makes Pepper’s look
 better. If you’ve decided that the differences between the items you’re
comparing/contrasting are most important, you’ll want to end with the
differences—and vice versa, if the similarities seem most important to
you.

Our handout on Organization can help you write good topic sentences and transitions and make
sure that you have a good overall structure in place for your paper.

Cue words and other tips

To help your reader keep track of where you are in the comparison/contrast, you’ll want to be
sure that your transitions and topic sentences are especially strong. Your thesis should already
have given the reader an idea of the points you’ll be making and the organization you’ll be using,
but you can help her/him out with some extra cues. The following words may be helpful to you
in signaling your intentions:

like, similar to, also, unlike, similarly, in the same way, likewise, again, compared
to, in contrast, in like manner, contrasted with, on the contrary, however,
although, yet, even though, still, but, nevertheless, conversely, at the same time,
regardless, despite, while, on the one hand … on the other hand.

For example, you might have a topic sentence like one of these:

 Compared to Pepper’s, Amante is quiet.

 Like Amante, Pepper’s offers fresh garlic as a topping.
 Despite their different locations (downtown Chapel Hill and downtown Carrboro),
Pepper’s and Amante are both fairly easy to get to.

Some additional websites about comparison/contrast papers

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/CompAnalysis.html

http://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/compare.html